With the theme - “Mujib Year’s commitment is to protect voting rights” the National Voters' Day-2022 was observed on Wednesday to continue the progress of democracy in the country and ensure people’s voting rights as well. The day is observed to encourage country’s people to vote and thereby maximise the enrollment of fresh voters.
Voting is the bedrock of any functional democracy. We hope, National Voters’ Day will encourage common people to cast votes ballots for strengthening democracy in the country. Also, Voters’ Day will encourage the youths who turned 18 to be enlisted as voters and make them aware of their voting rights to give democracy an institutional shape.
Earlier country’s people witnessed General Zia after grabbing power illegally and violating the constitution staged the so-called “Yes-No” vote. The military dictator also staged farcical presidential elections where record 100 percent votes were cast after the polls. Apart from Zia, General Hussain Muhammad Ershad also did the same thing.
We need to inspire fresh
voters to exercise their
voting rights
Snatching people’s constitutional rights to vote, they had unleashed reign of terror by killing and torturing leaders and activists of pro-liberation political parties and forces. Our spirit of the Liberation War, democratic values, hard-earned independence and constitutional and people’s voting rights were destroyed and violated in many ways. Therefore, our country had become champion in stealing of money and assets, embezzlement of money, vote rigging and money laundering as Zia and Ershad were not mandated by the people’s votes.
Amid all odds, torture, repression, misdeeds and suppression, country’s people imbued with the spirit of Liberation War continued the fight to establish their constitutional rights to vote. When Father of the Nation Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power people’s rights to vote was established raising the slogan — “Amar vote ami debo, jake khushi take debo.”
We believe the new commission-led by CEC Quazi Habibul Awal will be ensuring enlistment of every new voter and creating mass awareness so that every voter would come to the polling centres for casting their ballots to strengthen democracy in the country. And, no vested elements led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party-Jamaat clique, who are out to snatch the democratic and constitutional rights and play with people’s fate to capture the state power will be allowed to play ducks and drakes with the voting rights of the people again. In this regard, apart from the commission and the government, all other stakeholders will also have to come forward in order to inspire our youths to become voters and exercise their voting rights to infuse democratic culture in them.
